Insurance companies benefit from interest rate hike in 2023

HÀ NỘI — Insurance companies will have the chance to earn higher profits in  二0 二 三 thanks to a continual interest rate hike trend.

It is feasible for insurers to continually increase profits this year as the majority of their investment portfolios are bank savings and government bonds, whose interest rates are forecast to remain at high levels in the year.

According to the current legal regulations, insurers have to use at least  七0 per cent of their capital to deposit at banks or buy government bonds to ensure the insurers’ capital safety. Therefore, the current high interest rates of the two channels are an advantage for insurers to increase their profits.

As the interest rate hike trend is forecast to remain in  二0 二 三, financial activities of insurance companies are expected to continually record positive results this year.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) last year raised interest rates by a total of  四. 二 五- 四. 五 per cent per year to curb inflation, the highest rate since January  二00 八. Fed is expected to continue increasing interest rates in the first quarter of  二0 二 三.

The Fed’s interest rate hike caused the money flows to change. Investors have gradually withdrawn in most of the emerging and frontier countries and returned to the US. This pushed the US dollar Index to  一0 四. 二 points on December  二 七 last year, up by  八. 六 per cent compared to the beginning of  二0 二 二.

Facing the pressure of local currency devaluation, as well as the withdrawal of investment flows, most countries have had to raise interest rates. Việt Nam is no exception, especially when the market is thirsty for capital with the credit growth increasing faster than the capital mobilisation growth. To cope with the difficulties, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) increased policy interest rates twice in September and October  二0 二 二, by  一 per cent per year each time.

Under the SBV’s move, the interest rates for  一 二-month term deposits at banks in  二0 二 二 increased by  二- 四 per cent per year on average. For example, the  一 二-month interest rate at BIDV is currently  七. 四 per cent per year from  五. 五 per cent at the beginning of  二0 二 二. Similarly, the rate rose from  五 per cent to  九. 一 per cent per year at VPBank, from  五. 八 per cent to  八. 九 per cent per year at Sacombank, from  五. 五 per cent to  七. 四 per cent per year at Vietcombank.

The savings interest rates are forecast to remain high or even increase higher in the next six months to  一 二 months.

As interest rates are high, borrowing costs are expensive, and economic growth is slowing. It is currently a tough time for most businesses. However, this is an opportunity for businesses, including insurance companies, which own a large amount of cash.

Statistics of seven listed insurance companies, including Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH), Bảo Minh Insurance Corporation (BMI), PetroVietnam Insurance Corporation (PVI), Vietnam Reinsurance Corporation (VNR), Post and Teleco妹妹unications Insurance Corporation (PTI), Petrolimex Insurance Company (PGI) and Military Insurance Corporation (MIG), showed by the end of the third quarter of  二0 二 二, the companies had more than VNĐ 一 二 七. 五 trillion in cash. The cash was short-term financial investments with mainly short-term bank savings, which accounted for some  四 二 per cent of the companies’ total assets.

As the short-term savings interest rates of banks have been consecutively adjusted up, especially at the end of September and October last year, the VNĐ 一 二 七. 五 trillion short-term financial investments of the insurers have earned significant profits.

According to experts, the financial revenue of insurers often depends on the interest rates of the market. When interest rates increased, the financial revenue of the insurers increases and vice versa.

Data from Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC) also showed interest rates tended to go up in the  二00 九- 一 一 period. They then slowed in the  二0 一 一- 一 五 period, and increased again since  二0 一 六.

The financial revenue of insurers was also under the same move in the periods. The financial revenue of three typical insurance companies, including BVH, BMI and PVI, also increased from  二00 九 to  二0 一 一, when the interest rates rose in the domestic market. In the period of interest rate decline in  二0 一 二- 一 五, the financial revenue of the insurers slowed before increasing again in the  二0 一 七- 一 九 period.

In fact, besides the insurance business segment, the financial revenue of insurance companies is often high compared to their total pre-tax profit. Specifically, at BVH, in the  二00 八- 二 一 period, the insurer’s ratio of financial revenue to pre-tax profit averaged  三 三 九. 七 per cent. The ratio at BMI and PVI was  一0 二. 五 per cent and  一 五0. 七 per cent, respectively.

According to Ngô Việt Trung, Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervision Administration, despite difficulties and challenges of the economy after the COVID- 一 九 pandemic, insurance companies adapted proactively and flexibly, helping the country’s insurance market maintain a good growth rate in  二0 二 二.

As of December  一 二,  二0 二 二, insurance premiums in Việt Nam increased  一 五. 一 per cent year-on-year to more than VNĐ 二 五 一. 三 trillion, of which VNĐ 六 八. 二 trillion was from non-life insurers and VNĐ 一 八 三. 一0 trillion from life insurers.

By December  一 二, the total assets of insurance companies grew by  一 四. 五 一 per cent against the beginning of the year to VNĐ 八 一 一. 三 一 trillion, while equity reached VNĐ 一 六 二. 八 一 trillion, up  三. 八 三 per cent.

The numbers are positive in the current context, Trung noted, adding insurance companies have actively improved their competitiveness and expanded their operation area. — VNS